Group photo of members of Aikido of San Diego, on the mat and dressed in training uniforms, following Ana Allen's 1st-kyu exam. Photo by Christine Cessna.
Aikido of San Diego members after Ana Allen's 1st kyu exam - Photo by her daughter, Christine Cessna

Linda Eskin — Writing About Aikido Since 2009

Congratulations to everyone who tested today!

Here’s my 4th kyu exam. Plenty of hiccups and room for improvement, but I’ll take it. There’s always 3rd kyu, and 2nd, and … ;-)

Many thanks to Dodge and Jay for being my ukes, to Bill and R.A. for being such helpful and dedicated training partners, to Yuumi, for lots of jiyuwaza practice, to Jason Lim for being our mentor, and to Dave Goldberg Sensei. <rei>

Video, and generous moral support, by Michael Eskin. :-)

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One of the aspects of Aikido we are constantly exploring is that if an attacker or body does not perceive a threat (such as a strong grab or hard block) they will naturally not react defensively (or at all). Staying relaxed and soft can help the other person become relaxed and soft, too.

This football play is a great example of this idea in action. The guy with the ball doesn’t tuck his head and charge through the line, instead he walks through like he has no place special to be. It’s so soft, relaxed, and casual the whole opposing team fails to perceive the threat – until he starts to run, and then it’s too late. Freaking brilliant. (And legal, too.)

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This is brilliant. I haven’t run into anyone quite like this yet, but a few who definitely reminded me of this scenario. Kudos to “mdejoya” on YouTube, who created this.

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I don’t go out with the idea of seeing an elk, bear, mountain lion. If I go out and keep my expectations in check I always see something interesting … It’s a huge country. It’s just unimaginably rich with what you can see hear, smell and remember if you open yourself up to the adventure.

Michael Robbins 
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